1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to beds for vehicles and, more specifically, to a cab-to-box damper assembly for a bed of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a bed for a vehicle such as a pick-up truck. Typically, the bed is rectangular in shape to define a cargo area and is closed at the end by a tailgate. The tailgate is hinged to the bed to have an upright position to close the end of the bed and a down position to open the end of the bed. The pick-up truck also has a cab for occupants, which is discontinuous with the bed.
One disadvantage of the above is that pick-up trucks exhibit an undamped bounce phenomena. The major response of the pick-up truck is the first bending or beaming mode of the pick-up truck, which is very lightly damped. This shake response is unique to pick-up trucks because of the cab-to-box discontinuity, resulting in significantly lower vehicle bending stiffness than sedan or sport utility type vehicles. The highest shake levels occur when the frequency of the road impacts (which is a function of vehicle speed, wheel base and impact spacing) aligns with the first bending mode of the pick-up truck. This phenomenon is most noticeable on freeways (but not limited to) where discontinuities exist between the large concrete slabs. The operator perception is characterized as bounce or shake at freeway speeds. Other road/tire inputs can also excite the bounce phenomena. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a cab-to-box damper to improve pick-up truck ride quality.
Accordingly, the present invention is a cab-to-box damper assembly for a vehicle having cab and a bed. The cab-to-box damper assembly includes at least one damping and/or spring element having a first end and a second end, a first bracket member operatively connecting the first end to a rear of the cab, and a second bracket member operatively connecting the second end to a front of the bed, whereby the damping element reduces relative movement between the bed and the cab.
One advantage of the present invention is that a cab-to-box damper assembly is provided for a vehicle such as a pick-up truck. Another advantage of the present invention is that the cab-to-box damper assembly incorporates one or more damping and/or spring elements connected between a bed and cab of a vehicle to significantly reduce vehicle bounce and achieve true car-like ride quality. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the cab-to-box damper assembly provides unique damping and stiffness control of the full bending mode response of the pick-up truck that is induced by road/tire inputs.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.